The present invention generally relates to the field of portable electronic devices. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of personal digital assistants (PDAs) and other similar types of portable electronic devices.
As the components required to build a computer system are reduced in size, new categories of computer systems are emerging. One of the more recent categories of computer systems is the portable, or xe2x80x9cpalmtopxe2x80x9d computer system, or personal digital assistant (PDA). A palmtop computer system is a computer that is small enough to be held in the hand of a user and is thus xe2x80x9cpalm-sized.xe2x80x9d As a result, palmtops are readily carried about in a briefcase or purse, and some palmtops are compact enough to fit into a person""s pocket. By virtue of their size, palmtop computer systems are also lightweight and so are exceptionally portable and convenient.
Because of their relatively small size, designers of portable computer systems are faced with the challenge of having to fit the various internal components as efficiently as possible into a small housing. This task is complicated because there may be different models built on the same basic platform. Each model may require a different hardware configuration depending on the features it incorporates, yet the internal components must still fit into the standard-size housing.
For example, a palmtop computer system may utilize either a monochrome display device or a color display device. The display screen for the color device is typically thicker than the screen of a monochrome device, and generally there are differences between the circuitry needed to connect and drive a monochrome display device versus a color display device. The display device is typically connected to a printed circuit board of the palmtop computer system, and thus different printed circuit board designs are needed in order to accommodate differences in the connection circuitry. Each version of a component increases the number of parts to be tracked and managed, thereby complicating the design process.
Variability in design may also be introduced by the different manufacturers and vendors of display devices, each of which may have their own connector scheme and interface circuitry. Thus, the number of printed circuit board designs of a palmtop computer system is increased further to accommodate the different manufacturers, adding more parts that need to be tracked.
Additionally, each palmtop computing device is typically implemented with a unique display screen, which is usually not interchangeable among different palmtop computing models. Moreover, as mentioned above, the display screen is connected so specifically to the printed circuit board of the palmtop computing device, it usually does not provide any type of production postponement for customization late in the production process, where, for example it may be desirable to substitute a monochrome display screen for a color display screen, or vice versa.
Another disadvantage associated with the palmtop computing device being design specifically for a particular display screen is that non-availability or shortages of that specific display device results in the production process coming to a halt.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method and system for providing a modular solution which allows customization of a palmtop computing device late in its production process. In this manner, the user would have the ability to choose whether to build their palmtop computing device with a color or monochrome display screen. The present invention provides this advantage and others which will no doubt become obvious to those of ordinary skill in the art after having read the following detailed description of embodiments in accordance with the present invention.
For example, a portable computer system (e.g., a palmtop or hand-held computer system) is implemented with an interface module containing circuitry needed to connect with and operate a device such as a display device. The interface module is coupled to the display device. Additionally, the interface module may be coupled to a printed circuit (PC) board of the portable computer system. As such, PC board can thus be designed and manufactured independently of the display device. Furthermore, design variations in the display device can be independently accommodated in the interface module. Thus, the combination of the interface module, the device, and/or the PC board can be universally implemented in different designs of portable computer systems, reducing development time and manufacturing costs.
In another embodiment, the present invention includes a portable computer system that includes a device for performing a function. Furthermore, the portable computer system includes an interface module coupled to the device. The interface module includes circuitry requisite for the function. Wherein the interface module and the device, in combination, are useable in different portable computer system designs.
In one embodiment, the interface module includes a universal coupler. In another embodiment, the portable computer system also includes a printed circuit board coupled to the interface module.
In yet another embodiment, the portable computer system includes a printed circuit board which is coupled to the interface module, wherein the printed circuit board includes a first universal coupler. In still another embodiment, the portable computer system includes the details of the embodiment just described along with the interface module including a second universal coupler. It is appreciated that the first universal coupler is coupled to the second universal coupler.